Page 14 of First Down

“Oh. Good.” I stop and pull away, giving us a couple feet of distance. “Um. Even besides that, we can’t.”

“I know,” he says easily. “But I did want to talk about something else.”

His lack of a fight hurts, which is stupid, because I just told him to back off. It would never work. Even if we just hooked up, that would make things more awkward for him and Darryl, and I’m still firmly in no-relationship land. I don’t know him, but the intensity he radiates practically screams that he doesn’t do anything halfway.

“Why do you know?” I say.

He smiles slightly. “Because a girl like you deserves more than I can give, Bex.”

I risk a step closer in his direction. Angle my chin up as I look at him. “How do you know what kind of girl I am? We barely know each other.”

“I saw how you looked after we kissed. Trust me, you’re a relationship girl.”

Annoyance pricks my skin. He’s right, but the casual way he says it makes it feel like a negative. “And you don’t do relationships?”

“I don’t do anything but football.” His hand curls and uncurls on the strap of his backpack. “Let’s just move on, okay?”

“Fine,” I say as we continue walking. I make sure there’s a few feet between us, so I don’t do something idiotic like try and kiss him again. Even though we decided to move on not two seconds ago, I still feel that tug in my belly. I never gave much thought to chemical attraction before, but how else can I explain this? “What did you want to ask me?”

“Thanks again for helping me out in class.” He runs a hand through his hair, ducking his head. “Um... you know I failed the class the first time.”

“Yeah.”

“I really can’t fail it this time. I need it to graduate, and it’s only a fall class.”

I sigh. “Yeah. I think that’s shitty of them since they’re so strict about it.”

“You obviously know what you’re doing. I need your help. I need you to tutor me.”

“There’s a TA. You can go to office hours.”

“Can’t.”

“Can’t?” I repeat.

“I have practice all of those times,” he says. He looks genuinely frustrated, which almost makes me say yes, but I give myself a little mental shake. I really don’t have time to be someone’s tutor, even if he paid me. Not to mention the attraction to him that I can’t seem to turn off. Being alone with the guy to tutor him? That sounds like heaven... I mean, torture.

He scuffs the pavement with his shoe. “I’ll pay you for your time, of course.”

“I have a full course load too. Six classes. Plus my job.”And running home whenever the diner needs help, I think but don’t say aloud. There’s always something wrong at Abby’s Place and it’s never my mother who can fix it.

“There’s nothing I can offer to convince you?”

“Nope.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Everyone has a price.”

“Everyone but me, apparently.” I check my phone and curse softly at the time. I need to hustle to get to my shift on time. “Sorry, I need to go.”

“I’ll figure it out,” he calls when I’m almost up the next hill.

I look over my shoulder at him. He has a smile on his face, but there’s something else in his eyes. A challenge. I’m suddenlyaware of one very important fact: he’s an athlete. And athletes don’t quit.

“Oh yeah?”

“Whatever your price is,” he says, taking a deliberate stride forward, “I’ll figure it out, Bex.”

I try to swallow, but my throat is as dry as a desert. Some small, traitorous part of me wants to ask if that’s a promise.

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